Image source: eminentcycles.com
Founded by Jeff Soncrant, a former engineer and Kevin Sigismondo in 2014, the American brand Eminent Cycles was brought to life after Soncrant couldn’t find a bike on the market that matched his desires.
The brand launched with one bike, the Haste bike – a lightweight, carbon enduro bike that used both a floating rear brake and shock as part of the several innovations on the bike. Although the bike is no longer available to purchase directly from Eminent, it marked the beginning of Eminent bikes and led to multiple positive Eminent Cycles reviews.
Carbon fiber full-suspension mountain bikes
Currently, the San Diego brand manufactures just one bike, the Onset – which is available in three variations. The brand has recently been forced to restructure due to financial issues brought on by the pandemic. However, co-founder Soncrant is confident the company will bounce back and has reiterated this is not due to stock or supply chain issues.
Eminent Mountain Bikes
Onset
– ST 29
– MT 29
– LT 29
Haste
Eminent Onset
Onset MT Advanced 29″, MSRP $6,699 JensonUSA.com
- 29″ wheels
- Choice of three colorways
- Carbon fiber frame
The Eminent Onset is currently the main bike the brand offers on its website.
It comes in three different models: ST 29, MT 29, and LT 29. Each model has a slightly different amount of travel and therefore slightly different ways to use them.
The ST 29 has 120mm of rear and 130mm of front suspension travel and is a great example of an adaptable and versatile trail bike. Prices range between $4,899 and $8,599 giving you plenty of options of different component levels and groupsets. It comes with a choice of three colorways: V.1 Le Blue-Gold-Gloss, V.1 Gray-Orange-Gloss, or V.1 Black-Gray-Satin.
The MT 29 has 155mm rear and 160mm front travel. It is designed to be a do-it-all bike sitting well in the trail/all-mountain/enduro ranges, it climbs just as well as it descends – fast. Prices range between $5,099 and $8,799 and it comes in a choice of three colorways: V.1 Le Blue-Gold-Gloss, V.1 Gray-Orange-Gloss, or V.1 Black-Gray-Satin.
Eminent Onset LT Advanced
The LT 29 has 140mm travel on the front and 155mm on the rear. It’s an ideal all-mountain and trail bike, with agile geometry and a lightweight frame. It comes in the same three different color choices as the other two models, and prices range from between $4,999 and $8,699.
Each Onset bike comes equipped with Eminent’s own AFS suspension, which uses a floating brake, shock and a long rocker for ultimate response in all riding conditions.
Eminent Onset Size Guide
XS – 5’0″ – 5’5″ / 152cm – 165cm
S – 5’5″ – 5’9″ / 165cm – 175cm
M – 5’9″ – 6’1″ / 175cm – 185cm
L – 6’1″ – 6’6″ / 185cm – 198cm
Eminent Haste
EMINENT HASTE NX JENSON USA EXCLUSIVE BUILD, MSRP $4,000 JensonUSA.com
- Carbon fiber frame
- 27.5″ wheels
- 170mm front, 160mm rear suspension
The Eminent Cycles Haste was the brand’s first bike and was first brought to market in 2014.
Now no longer available directly through their website, you can buy it at Jensonusa.com where they stock an exclusive build. The Haste has 27.5″ wheels and a full carbon fiber frame. It’s lightweight and agile, and comes with 170mm of front and 160mm of rear suspension, making it an ideal enduro racer.
Internal cable routing gives the bike a clean and tidy aesthetic while maintaining an aggressive look with sharp lines and progressive geometry. This bike climbs well and descends like a demon, and makes a fantastic race bike or a bike for those who want the best for riding the bike park and trails.
It’s available from Jensonusa.com for $4,000 and it comes with a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain, Fox 36 Float Performance Elite Grip2 forks and a Fox Float X2 rear shock, and it comes in a striking blue colorway.
Eminent Haste Size Guide
XS – 5’0″ – 5’4″ / 152cm – 163cm
S – 5’4″ – 5’8″ / 163cm – 173cm
M – 5’8″ – 6’0″ / 173cm – 183cm
L – 6’0″ – 6’4″ / 183cm – 193cm
FAQ
What does Eminent mean?
Eminent stands for (adjective) something being of a positive quality present to a notable degree.
As engineers and bike industry leaders, the founders of Eminent Cycles set out to create bikes that are as they say on the tin; of excellent quality, and bikes that they want to ride.
Not only this, but they aim to provide expert customer service that doesn’t end the day you buy the bike. You can get in touch with their customer service team at the San Diego headquarters at any point in your Eminent biking journey to get advice or resolve an issue.
Where are Eminent bikes made?
Eminent bikes are manufactured in China, Asia. Once they have been manufactured, the bikes are then shipped to the San Diego headquarters. Here, they are assembled to 95% before being shipped to consumers.
Are Eminent mountain bikes good?
The founders of Eminent Cycles were engineers and industry professionals before they began their own brand. Therefore, they possess the knowledge and expertise required to design and manufacture excellent quality bikes. The bikes have been received well across consumers and media alike. Additionally, the brand focuses on one or two bikes rather than churning out lots of different bikes across disciplines.
